Food deterioration, such as the development of off-flavor, color and flavor changes, and nutritional losses, can be often caused by oxidation. Additionally, excessive oxygen in the packaging can cause the growth of aerobic bacteria or proliferation of molds.
Vacuum packaging has been widely used to eliminate oxygen in the packaging headspace. However, the oxygen that permeates from outside to headspace through packaging cannot be removed by this technique. Oxygen scavengers can remove the oxygen that permeates from outside into the headspace using chemical reactions. On the other hand, oxygen absorbers remove oxygen by physical trapping. Oxygen scavengers have been commercialized in the food packaging industries during recent decades. It is used in various forms; sachet, plastic film, labels, plastic trays, and bottle crowns.
There are several principles of oxygen scavengers, but the most widely used concepts are iron oxidation, ascorbic acid oxidation, and photosensitive dye oxidation. The most common and effective form of oxygen scavengers are based on the principle of iron oxidation. Iron-based oxygen scavengers are mostly used in sachet form, but future trends in active packaging are focused on the use scavenging compounds incorporated in the packaging film.
As such, a need exists for an efficient scavenging system for use in packaging.